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Blade of the Immortal (manga)
Blade of the Immortal Blade of the Immortal(Jpn. - 無限の住人 - "Inhabitant of Infinity") is a manga created in 1994 by mangaka(manga artist), illustrator and ero guro("erotic-grotesque") artist Hiroaki Samura. The series, published(by Kodansha) in the Japanese monthly magazine Afternoon as issues, is currently in its 26th volume in Japan(and other parts of Asia, such as China), while it is only up to volume 23 in the US, UK and parts of Europe. Outside of Asia, Blade of the Immortal is published by the American graphic novel publisher Dark Horse. Basic Plot Main Article Blade of the Immortal is set in the 2nd year of the Tenmei era of Japan, which is the year 1782. This can also be referred to as the mid-Tokugawa Shogunate period. The main place of the story is Edo(modern-day Tokyo). The story starts with Manji, a samurai who killed 100 (regardless of guilty or innocent) men for his old master and is consequently a wanted criminal. After meeting the 800-year old nun Yaobikuni , Manji is given the Kessen-chū (Jpn. - 血仙蟲 - "sacred bloodworms"), creatures that sacrifice themselves to heal their human host's wounds. At this point Yaobikuni is constantly trying to convince an at-first reluctant Manji to atone for his sins in some way(one of her suggestions is that he shaves his head, becomes a monk and embarks on a pilgrimage with her). However, when Manji's sister Machi is murdered by the brother of one of Manji's victims, Manji makes a vow to kill 1000 evil men to cancel out his past sins and end his eternal life. Soon afterwards, Manji meets Rin Asano, a sixteen year-old girl whose parents were recently murdered "at the hands of complete strangers." She begs him to help her seek out revenge against her parents' killers. In the end he accompanies her back into town, meeting one of her targets, Kuroi Sabato. When Manji finally defeats Kuroi, he becomes Rin's bodyguard. The Kessen-chū Main Article The main hook of the series, the Kessen-chū(Jpn. - 血仙蟲 - "sacred bloodworms") are creatures that live and breed in a human host, sacrificing their bodies to regenerate any wound their host has sustained. While they can, for example, reseal a deep hole or reattach a limb, they cannot handle regrowth of too many wounds sustained at the same time, and it is rumoured that the host will die if their head is cut off. Characters in Blade of the Immortal(List) Main characters: *Manji The Immortal that the series title, Mugen no Junin("Inhabitant of Infinity"), refers to. He is usually quite laid back and is often sleeping. Because of his obvious advantage of immortality, his swordwork is sometimes quite mediocre and many of the fights he partakes in often end with him being gravely wounded. *Rin Asano The last heir to her father's sword school, the Mutenichi-ryū. She holds a vendetta against her parents' killers, the Ittō-ryū. At the start of the series, she is still quite childish, but steadily "grows up" over the course of the manga, especially when it comes to saving Manji. Early on in the series, there are instances where she is shown as being confused about what she really wants, and what her morals are, for example, in Volume 2, Cry of the Worm, she tells Manji about the foreign sword taken as a spoil from the Mutenichi-ryū dojo the night her parents were killed, only to perform a U-turn and decide to give up on the sword and any other Ittō-ryū member but Anotsu Kagehisa. However, by Volume 3, Dreamsong, Rin is shown as being armed with the sword, wearing it from her shoulder in a tōju. Over the course of Volumes 4 and 5, On Silent Wings and On Silent Wings II, she struggles with the notion of killing merely for revenge, especially after meeting Ittō-ryū member Aaraya Kawakami as well as his son, Renzo Kawakami. Secondary/Supporting/minor characters: *Machi Tatsumasa Deceased sister of Manji. She became insane after Manji killed her husband out of self-defense, and was also murdered herself(by Shido Hashiyasu) because of Manji. *Yaobikuni An 800-year old nun that has only appeared in issues #1 & #2. She is immortal due to the Kessen-chū, and has since fed them to Manji(and, it is implied, Shizuma Eiku.) *Gyobutsū "Johnny" A bounty hunter diguised as a christian priest who has, according to himself, been ambushing and killing people for ten years. The last person he ambushed was Manji, who killed him. *Shido Hishiyasu The brother of Gyobutsū "Johnny" and deputy leader of the Shinsen-gumi, a ronin gang. He is killed by Manji along with 20 other gang members. *Master Sōri A painter (and ninja) who often practises "swordpainting," a technique by which a paintbrush is attached to a sword. This greatly annoys his daughter, Tatsubō. He is also later seen to be painting with blood. Despite being a fairly minor character, he has notable relationships with many of the main characters, such as Magatsu and Hyakurin. Recently, he has been shown teaching Meguro and Tanpopo art skills. *Tatsubō The daughter of Sōri. She often gets angry at her father's messy painting style, as this often results in both of them being evicted from where they are staying. Recently married. *O-yō A woman that briefly appears twice in Volume 1, Blood of a Thousand. ''She is presumably the Innkeeper of the Inn where Manji, Machi and Yoabikuni have settled in at the start of the series. *Saitō Tatsumasa The former husband of Machi. He was a policeman as well as a samurai. One night while walking home with Machi, they witness a disturbance nearby and Saitō leaves Machi to go home on her own while he deals with the reason for the disturbance; Manji. He ends up being killed by Manji out of self-defense. *Kurose Asano Rin's father. He is the son of Takayuki Asano, who is Rin's grandfather. He is often referred to as "Takayoshi" by his father, Takayuki. He was killed by Kuroi Sabato. *O-toki Rin's mother. Before being kidnapped and eventually killed by the Ittō-ryū, she was the victim of a grisly rape led by Aaraya Kawakami. *Saburo Anotsu Kagehisa Anotsu's grandfather. He was originally a student of Mutenichi-ryū, but ended up being expelled for using a foreign sword. *Takayuki Asano Grandfather of Rin. Along with Saburo Anotsu, he fought off attackers when the two men and the (then) master of Mutenichi-ryū were surrounded by bandits. *Lord Makiyuri A local ''daimyō ''that appears only once; in Volume 4, ''On Silent Wings. When he is about to maim or perhaps even kill Renzo Kawakami, Rin steps in and convinces him that Renzo is under her care. *O-hatsu A fellow geisha to Makie that appears only in Volume 3, Dreamsong. She seems to have a friendly relationship with Makie, and the two have one thing in common with each other; they used to be prostitutes. *Haya A prostitute working at the Ittō-ryū's favoured brothel, Yukimachi. She appears three times throughout the series and two of those times, is shown as being angry at the Ittō-ryū, firstly at Magatsu(she believes it was his fault that O-ren was murdered) and secondly at the Ittō-ryū in general for using prostitutes from Yukimachi as bait, as one of them, O-sei, who ended up so mutilated she could no longer work as a prostitute, hung herself as a result. She was also used as bait(issue #42, Heart of Darkness part 8) but came back unscathed. Her most distinguishing feature is that she has freckles. *O-ren A young Yukimachi prostitute who was in love with Magatsu. Killed by Shira. *Chōkichi The owner of a shop that Hyakurin often visits, buying food and sake. ''He is mentioned quite a few times, but only really appears once. *O-sei The Yukimachi prostitute hired as bait. She lured Shira and Rin out onto a main road until two Ittō-ryū members showed up, who were quickly dealt with by Shira. Shira then proceeded to mutilate her before attempting to rape her, but was stopped by Rin and Manji. She survived this attack, but hung herself afterwards. *Hayakawa Kakōsai Genkei The former husband of Hyakurin. He was an abusive samurai and every child he bore, from both his previous wife and Hyakurin, were weak and sickly. He desparately wanted an heir and thought he could find it in Matsuhiko, but unfortunately Matsuhiko was also weak and sickly. He was killed by Hyakurin. *Matsuhiko One of a pair of twins, parented by Genkei and Hyakurin. His twin sister was killed by their father with the excuse that he had no time to raise girls. Matsuhiko is a sickly child, weak, and perhaps even slightly effeminate-looking. Eventually killed by Genkei. *Sōhachi Nakaya The Innkeeper that eventually agrees to accompany Rin through customs so that she can travel to Kaga. *Sato Nakaya Wife of Nakaya. She also reluctantly agrees to help Rin get through customs, even hatching an idea to increase her chances. *Yoshiaki Harukawa The father of Makie Otono-Tachibana. He ended up disowning both his wife and daughter after realising that Makie had inherited the family's fighting ability instead of his son, also referred to as "Yoshiaki." *Komae Harukawa Makie Otono-Tachibana 's grandmother, the sister of Saburo Anotsu and the great aunt of Kagehisa Anotsu. *Fuki Makie's mother. After being disowned, she became a prostitute to support her daughter Makie and herself. *O-kane The head mistress of Yukimachi. After the events of Volumes 6 to 14, O-kane tells Sosuke Abayama and the Ittō-ryū in general to stay away from the brothel, even as mere customers. *O-kei The servant who takes care of Dewanosuke during the short period of time that he's in Kodenma prison. (Issue #113.) *Tōjirō Giichi's sickly son. He is only mentioned and never seen, and dies around the time of Volume 14. *O-mitsu Dewanosuke's wife. He mentions her while talking in his sleep. (Issue #113.) *Osaki Burando's love interest. She is mentioned in a flashback and tried in an epidemic along with Burando's mother. (Issue #111) *Gotō A fellow doctor that Burando studied under in the past. Seen in a flashback. (Issue #111.) *Kurifu A prisoner who is brought in to Manji's cell to replace a deceased Dewanosuke. (Issue #115.) *Kōnokura The third felon to be experimented on after Kurifu's swift death. (Issue #116.) *Kunimatsu The fourth felon. *Korewasai The fifth felon. After his death, the names of the felons experimented on cease to be mentioned. *Nakizō Appears twice in the series. He is the head of a group of policemen and has a run-in with Dōa and Isaku both times he appears. *Mori A doctor who appears a few times during the prison arc. He knows Kashin Koji and they have been seen eating together along with doctor Kure. He has also been seen mocking Burando when he had been temporarily banned from continuing his research. *Kure Another doctor, who is always seen with doctor Mori. He is not as hot-headed as doctor Mori. *Kentarō The son of Habaki Kagimura and his current wife, Shima. He first appears(along with Shima) in Issue #122. *Karukozawa An Edo castle guard, though he mainly guards Manji's cell in the dungeons. He appears to be friendly with Toraemon. (Issue #115.) *Sakura A dungeon guard that traps Rin, Dōa and Nanda-rō early on. He ends up extracting punishment on Rin, in the form of ''tataki. '' *Nandarō A beggar that first appears in issue #124, wearing Isaku's armguards. Rin and Dōa force him to infiltrate Edo castle with them so that they can have some idea about which ways to go within the dungeons. *Shima Habaki's wife. She first appears with Kentarō in issue #122. Later supporting characters: *Ayame Burando One of the doctors working under Habaki to research and experiment with (Manji's)immortality. He is eccentric and often has conflicting thoughts about human lives. Implied to be much younger than Mozen and Toraemon. *Toraemon A servant and guard under Habaki. He is often seen carrying the doctors' equipment and performing small tasks such as taking Manji's blood and cutting into him to demonstrate his immortality. *Yamada Asaemon Yoshirō A famous executioner. Also called "Kubikiri Asa." He is skilled in severing limbs efficiently. Habaki employs him to sever Manji(and various felon's)'s limbs down in the prison. *Benki Asaemon's loyal bodyguard. Stood with Asaemon, the two can be compared to Dōa and Isaku; Benki is quite large and well-built while Asaemon himself is smaller and has a lighter frame. *Dewanosuke The first felon to be tested on. Of all the felons tested on, he lived the longest. Killed by Habaki in order to test his immortality. *Mozen The first ever doctor Habaki orders to experiment on Manji to reveal everything about his immortality. Both him and Burando are given eight days, with himself starting first. When his eight days are up, he is fired and doesn't appear again. *Renzo Kawakami The son of Aaraya Kawakami. He first appears in ''On Silent Wings ''part 1. Both literally and figuratively, his is Shira's hand, often having to feed and clean him. Ittō-ryū members: *Kagehisa Anotsu *Magatsu Taito *Makie Otono-Tachibana *Sosuke Abayama *Kuroi Sabato *Eiku Shizuma *Aaraya Kawakami *Dōa Yoshino *Isaku Yasonokami *Koji Kashin *Ozuhan *Sukezane Baro Other Ittō-ryū: *Hage *Iwami Ginzan *Saikaya *Morozumi Chōgo *Sumino Kenei *Higa *Hanada *Uruma *Kinuka *Tamasaki *Kurishige Wayan *Fujiaki Kasori Mugai-ryū members: *Habaki Kagimura *Hyakurin *Shira *Giichi *Shinriji *Makoto Shingyoto-ryū members: *Kensui Ibane *Hisoka Ibane *Iriya *Kozue Rokki-dan members: *Haiyabo *Inroku Ban *Shishiya Arashino *Shinhei Doma *Tareshin Hasshu *Shozo Murasaki *Ryo Soma Other Suboardinates of the government and Habaki Kagimura *Meguro *Tanpopo *Hebigumi *Mitake Recently-named characters: *Ugen Hanabusa *Mizuma *Ena Awards The series has so far won two awards, the first being an Excellence Prize at the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival, the second being the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award in 2000 for "Best U.S Edition of Foreign Material." ---- Art of Hiroaki Samura Weapons and Martial Arts in Blade of the Immortal Volumes and Issues (tankōbon) Volumes* (English trade paperback): #Blood of a Thousand'' #''Cry of the Worm'' #''Dreamsong'' #''On Silent Wings'' #''On Silent Wings II'' #''Dark Shadows'' #''Heart of Darkness'' #''The Gathering'' #''The Gathering II'' #''Secrets'' #''Beasts'' #''Fall/Autumn Frost'' #''Mirror of the Soul'' #''Last Blood'' #''Trickster'' #''Shortcut'' #''On the Perfection of Anatomy'' #''The Sparrow Net'' #''Badger Hole'' #''Demon's Lair'' #''Demon's Lair II'' #''Footsteps'' #''Scarlet Swords'' * - Issues contained within a certain volume are focused on more within the main article of that volume. Therefore, by clicking on Blood of a Thousand, ''for example, one may see the links to the articles for all the articles collected in that volume. Volumes(Japanese): The Japanese tankōbon(collected editions) tend to collect more issues than the English volumes. They are as follows: #''tankōbon 1 #''tankōbon'' 2 #''tankōbon'' 3 #''tankōbon'' 4 Regional differences (Editing in the European and American versions) Anime adaptation Main Article It was first announced on 23 March 2008 that an anime series based on Blade of the Immortal was in the works. It was produced by Bee Train and its first episode premiered on 13 July 2008. The Anime currently has finished its first season, which consisted of 13 episodes. Media Blasters, an American company, has acquired the rights to the show and has since released it in September 2010. They have dubbed the show in English. Cultural References & References to Other Works The series does have a few references to ancient Japan and other works, though they are quite rare and few in number. However, historic figures, events, and eras are often mentioned, such as Miyamoto Musashi, Oda Nobunaga, and the Muromachi period. The first instance of sampling from another work appears in Issue #2, Conquest. '''In Rin's flashback, Anotsu tells her father his percieved origin of the Itto-ryu - he explains that his grandfather(Saburo Anotsu) and Rin's grandfather(Takayuki Asano) were competing to recieve the secret inner teachings of the Mutenichi-ryu. He goes on to explain how his own grandfather was expelled, and in the process, a panel from Japanese print-maker and artist Hokusai's "Hokusai Manga" is shown. Another instance of sampling Hokusai's work came up again, in a much more recent issue of Blade of the Immortal. The cover of an issue featured in Volume 20(Demon's Lair II), shows Rin with part of one of Hokusai's well known ''Ukiyo-e prints; The Great Wave off Kanagawa '''. A real-life stone monument has also been shown(and explained) in Issue #89 ('Crossroads) '''of the series. In this part of the story, Anotsu, while travelling with Rin, has been infected with tetanus and, now that his condition has worsened, cannot even stand. He is shown to be leaning against the back of this monument, with Rin sitting nearby. This is also briefly explained at the end of the issue. Specials, Spin-offs & other related work A novel, Legend of the Sword Demon, was published in 2008. It was written by Junichi Ohsako and features illustrations by Hiroaki Samura. An Artbook, The Art of Blade of the Immortal, has also been released by Dark Horse. It was published on 19 May 2010. Many of the back pages of both the Volumes and Issues of Blade of the Immortal include pin-ups, short parody comics and spin-off pictures often by other professional artists as well as Hiroaki Samura. Most of the singular issues also feature art of the characters, sent in by fans/amateur artists. Some Blade of the Immortal merchandise has been released by Dark Horse, including a Manji figure, as well as T-shirts and lighters featuring Manji and Rin on them. Stickers with various designs on them have also been released. Category:Manga Category:Hiroaki Samura